Hostage to Democracy
Hostage to Democracy was the original name for the band Pacific Panic. The band began in very early 2010 with Dakota Linn on guitar and vocals, Ryan Perry and drums, and Kevin Nelson on bass. The band would add Jaron Omololu on guitar and, between 2011 and 2013, Harper James on guitar and keyboards. In 2016, after Kevin and Jaron left the band to focus on college, Dakota and Ryan brought in Austin Nay and Luke Ilmberger and changed the name to Pacific Panic. History Ryan Perry, Dakota Linn, and Kevin Nelson had always joked around (even as far back as 2006) about being in a band. The three decided in 2010 that they really did want to play music and created Hostage to Democracy (often shortened to H2D). Dakota sang and played guitar, Kevin played the bass, and Ryan the drums. Immediately the band started writing original songs, like Devil Horns and Just Wanna Explode, the latter of which was played live for many years. The band also learned their first cover, House of the Rising Sun, at this time. After some small performances, and after bringing new guitarist Jaron Omololu on board, they played the Roosevelt Elementary School Fall Festival for the first time. They would continue to perform at the festival every year until 2013, and garnered many of their early fans from these shows. Many of these early shows were plagued by sound problems or poor planning. After playing at the Ashkenaz Cafe for the Bandworks Festival the following year, they recruited Harper James. Initially he was was brought on as a third guitarist but he slowly transitioned over to keyboards as well. The next year and a half marked a time of very low productivity for the band despite playing at many shows around San Leandro. They didn't play any original songs and played a very similar set for quite a while. Emmet Schneider, Ryan and Kevin's instrumental teacher helped them out a considerable amount in terms of sound quality, rehearsal productivity, and marketing. But it wasn't until 2012 that the band really began to regain their footing again. In the 2nd half of 2012 the band started pulling together consistent productive rehearsals and learned many new songs. This resulted in their next few shows having more diverse set lists, something they feel is important for their shows. They also became friends with fellow high school band Coar. The two bands supported each other throughout high school, promoting each others' shows and playing together a few times. In 2013 the band began to realize that having multiple activities going on at once (Dakota in school musicals, Kevin and Jaron in baseball, and Harper in multiple sports) was keeping the band from progressing and agreed that it was time to choose priorities. Harper decided that he wanted to focus on sports t get int colleges and the band has since gone on as a four-piece. Over the next two years Hostage to Democracy began to see many improvements. They began writing original songs again, with lyrics and music going in a more serious direction. Some of the songs that spawned from these sessions were Walking On, Age of Anarchy, and Lone Wolf. They also began playing many more shows and performances, including many shows at Gilman, the most popular local punk venue. This also marked an intentional shift towards set lists based around the original songs. After high school ended, Jaron and Kevin decided they were going out of town for college, and as such could not continue playing with the band. H2D decided to do a final show at Gilman as a send-off to those two and a commemoration of the band's five years together. Ryan and Dakota began their search for a new bassist and guitarist. They brought on Austin Nay, a friend from high school, to play bass, and Luke Ilmberger, a guitarist at Ryan's college. With this new lineup, the band decided to change it's name to Pacific Panic. Category:Hostage to Democracy